Knotters

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to knotters for tying knots and has particular, but not exclusive, application to agricultural balers. In known baler knotters, twine for tying the bales is cut by a fixed or movable knife in such a way that substantially the same portion of the knife edge is used for cutting with the result that early blunting occurs which can give rise to only partially cut twine which adversely affects the knotter. In accordance with the invention a knotter (24) comprises a twine holder (63) operable to hold, during a knot-tying operation, a primary and a secondary portion (20,43) of twine in which the knot is to be tied, and rotary knife means (130) operable to cut at least one of said twine portions at a predetermined point in the operational cycle of the knotter and as said at least one twine portion is held by the twine holder.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to knotters, i.e. mechanisms for tying knots, for any application but for convenience, the invention will be discussed in relation to agricultural baling machines in which bales of hay or straw, for example, are formed and secured by flexible material in which knots are tied by a knotter.

In conventional crop balers, hay, straw and similar crop material that has been previously cut, windrowed or swathed, is picked up from the ground by a pick-up unit and fed in successive batches or charges into an elongated bale chamber in timed sequence with a reciprocating plunger. The plunger compresses the material into bales and, at the same time, gradually advances the bales towards the outlet of the bale chamber. As the bales reach a predetermined length, as determined by a metering device, a knotter is actuated which wraps cord, twine or other flexible tie material around the bale and secures the ends of the material together.

In a typical baler a knotter is mounted on the bale chamber above a slot therein, the knotter comprising a twine holder from which twine extends to encircle a bale. During the baling operation, the leading strand of twine is held by the twine holder and extends forwardly across a twine retainer finger and a billhook and then in front of the bale. The twine retainer finger supports the stand so that it does not bear forcefully against the billhook. A needle is involved in completing the encirclement of twine around the bale and when advancing, the needle lays a trailing strand across the twine retainer finger, billhook and twine holder. A twine finger captures these strands of twine and positively positions the stands against the heel of the billhook. Thus, there is presented in a certain zone a pair of twine portions or stands lying alongside each other and these portions are twisted into a bight by the billhook and a portion thereof is pulled through the bight to form a double overhand knot. On completion of the operation of the knotter, the twine finger returns to the initial position. The removal of the tied knot from the billhook involves mechanical stripping by a movable member which normally embodies a knife operable to cut the twine from the twine supply so that the tied bale is complete in itself. The tying mechanism thus includes several components working in a precisely timed relationship so that theoretically the mechanism ties one knot for each bale and prepares the twine for the succeeding bale.

A knotter is inherently a relatively complicated structure, and the precisely timed operation thereof suffers at times from faulty operation. This may be due to the vibrations of the baler, the tension in the twine and the jarring of the baler as it moves through the field. The crop may be tough or resilient causing the strands of twine to jump about. Variations in the baling twine also affect the knotting operation. Balers are operated, and often parked, in a field, whereby the knotter is exposed to all weather conditions. Also, the knotter is subjected to dirt, crop and debris resulting in abrasion and interference of operation.

An improved knotter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,097 issued July 17, 1979 and this has been found to exhibit exceptional structural simplicity and highly reliable operational characteristics. However, this improved knotter suffers some disadvantages, one of which is that it employs a fixed knife for cutting the twine at a predetermined point in the operation of the knotter with the result that the twine is cut substantially at the same point on the knife edge which thus becomes blunt comparatively quickly and tends to produce ragged knot ends which may adversely affect the ensuing knot. Also, if the twine is only partially cut, the operation of the knotter can be impaired. A similar problem occurs with the knife mounted for movement with the knot-stripping member of earlier knotters.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention a knotter comprises a twine holder operable to hold, during a knot-tying operation, a primary and a secondary portion of twine in which the knot is to be tied, and rotary knife means operable to cut at least one of said portions of twine at a predetermined point in the operational cycle of the knotter and as said at least one twine portion is held by the twine holder.

Preferably, the rotary knife means is freely rotatable and is mounted for rotation about an axis offset from the path of movement of the or each twine portion to be cut, whereby during the cutting operation the knife means is rotated. This means that the cutting action is more positive because the twine portions effectively slide along the knife edge and also, a different area of the knife edge is presented for the next cutting operation so that an extended knife life is obtained. The knife means may be frusto-conical with a cutting edge formed around the base. The surface of the base of the frusto-conical knife means may be cooperable with a shear surface and if so, this base surface is preferably made as small as possible to minimise the risk of a poor shearing action due to non-planar characteristics and/or irregularities of the cooperating surfaces. Accordingly, the base of the frusto-conical knife means may have a central recess leaving an annular peripheral edge for cooperation with the shear surface. This recess serves a useful ancilliary function, namely the accommodation of foreign matter which might otherwise impair the cutting action.

The rotary knife means may be adjustably mounted so that it can be "loaded" on to the shear surface, when provided, to give the required cutting action.

The twine holder may be arranged for movement relative to the rotary knife means and may also move a shear surface cooperable with the rotary knife means to effect cutting of the twine. The shear surface may be on actual surface of the twine holder or formed on a separate shear member carried or movable by the twine holder. When a separate shear member is provided, this can be of a hardened material so that the twine holder can be made of cheaper material, consistent with providing the necessary structural strength. The provision of a shear surface effects self-sharpening of the knife means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An agricultural baler embodying the present invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic top plan view of the baler equipped with a pair of knotters each in accordance with the instant invention,

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view, to a larger scale, on the line II--II of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of one knotter according to the present invention,

FIG. 4 is a side view taken in the direction of arrow IV of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a view taken in the direction of arrow V of FIG. 3,

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the drive means for the pair of knotters shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view on the line VII--VII of FIG. 6, and

FIGS. 8 and 9 are enlarged views of different components of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A typical agricultural baler, generally designated 10, is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to include a wheel-supported chassis upon which are mounted a pick-up mechanism 11, a feeder mechanism 12 and a bale chamber 13. As cut crop material is picked up from the ground, it is fed in successive batches or charges into the inlet of the bale chamber 13 and the batches of material are compressed into bales 14 by a reciprocating plunger 16 which also advances the bales along the chamber 13 toward an outlet 17 in the direction of arrow 18.

As can perhaps best be seen in FIG. 2, a primary portion or length 20 of twine or flexible material 21 extends across the bale chamber 13 in the path of the leading end of each bale 14 from a supply reel or container 22 and passes through the eye of a needle 23 with the primary portion 20 of the twine 21 being held in a knotter 24 mounted on a top wall of the bale chamber 13. The baler carries a pair of identical knotters 24 and each knotter is arranged to cooperate with a needle 23, whereby a pair of needles also has to be provided.

A main drive shaft 30 (FIGS. 2, 6 and 7) is rotatably journalled in a support 31 on the upper wall of the bale chamber 13 at a distance thereabove and transversely of the bale chamber. The main drive shaft 30 is intermittently actuated by a conventional trip mechanism 32 which includes a starwheel 33 arranged to engage the bale of hay or other material as it is being formed, whereby it is rotated about a shaft 34 as the bale 14 moves along the bale chamber 13. The shaft 34 is operatively coupled to a trip lever 36 which itself is connected to a clutch mechanism 37 mounted on the main shaft 30. One half of the clutch mechanism 37 is driven continuously through a chain or sprocket drive transmission from an intermediate shaft on the baler, only a sprocket 38 thereof being shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. The diameter of the starwheel 33 and the transmission ratio between the shaft 34 and the trip lever 36 are such as to allow the formation of a bale of predetermined length before the trip mechanism actuates the clutch mechanism 37, whereupon the main shaft 30 is driven to initiate the tying of a knot by each knotter 24. The main shaft 30 has a crack arm 39 attached thereto at its end opposite to the clutch mechanism 37, the arm 39 being connected by a pitman or link 40 to a needle frame 41 which carries the pair of needles 23. The needle frame 41 is pivotally mounted on the bale chamber 13 by bearings 42. The bale chamber 13 has a pair of longitudinal slots in its lower and upper walls to accommodate the needles 23 when pivoted to their full throw positions.

No further elaboration will be given concerning the structural details of the trip mechanism 32 and the needle frame and drive mechanism as these details are sufficiently well known in the art. Suffice it briefly to summarise the operation thereof. Upon actuation of the clutch mechanism 37, the main shaft 30 is driven, and the needles 23 move from the rest position (indicated by full lines in FIG. 2) to their full throw position (shown partially in phantom lines in FIG. 2) to wrap the respective twines 21 around the bottom and trailing end of the bale 14 and place the secondary portions 43 of the twines 21 in the respective knotters 24. Each twine 21 loops back over the needle 23 to the reel 22 in the full throw position, thereby leaving a new primary portion or length of twine 21 across the path of the next bale to be formed. As each needle 23 returns to its rest position, the ends of each primary and secondary portion, 20 and 43, are twisted and tied together by the knotter 24, with the primary and secondary portions 21 and 43 being severed at the end of the tying operation. The entire knotting or tying operation takes place between successive strokes of the baler plunger 16.

The main shaft 30 also has attached thereto a single conical gear segment 50 having teeth 51 over only about 1/3 of its circumference. The gear teeth 51 are arranged to mesh with the teeth of a conical gear 52 which is mounted on one end of a stub shaft 53 on the other end of which is mounted to a sprocket 54. The shaft 53 is journalled in a support 56. A chain 57 engages the sprocket 54 and sprockets 58 and 59 of the respective knotters 24.

As already stated, the two knotters 24 are identical and, therefore, only one will be described in further detail in relation to the associated needle 23 and other components.

By way of general introduction to the knotter structure, attention is directed to the cross sectional view of FIG. 3 in which the basic component parts, and their interrelationships can be seen. Each knotter 24 is mounted to the top wall of the bale case 13 adjacent an elongate aperture 60 slightly rearwardly of twine guide rollers 61 (FIGS. 3 and 4). The knotter includes a base or a support frame 62, a generally circular, rotatable twine holder 63 rotatably mounted by a central hub 64 fixed to the support frame 62, a billhook 66 including a hollow shaft 99 extending angularly through, and rotatably supported by, the hub 64, and a worm gear 67 fixed to the billhook shaft in meshing engagement with internal gear teeth 97 on the twine holder 63. As mentioned above, and clearly seen in FIG. 3, for example, the twine holder 63 is maintained at an angle θ₁ relative to the top wall of the bale chamber 13. Though further discussion will be given below, it should be appreciated at this time that θ₁ is an acute angle and allows for a better placement of the twine in the twine-gripping area of the twine holder 63 by the needle 23. Also, as can be seen in FIG. 3, the billhook shaft 99 is positioned at angle θ₂ relative to the twine holder 63. The angular relationship between the shaft 99 and the twine holder 63 permits the billhook 66 to be better disposed for the knot tying operation. Following is a more detailed description of the structural configuration of the knotter 24 and the important interrelationships among the parts.

The support frame 62 includes a generally horizontal bottom plate 70 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) which is adapted to be removably affixed to the top wall of bale chamber 13. A twine holder support plate 71 is attached to the bottom plate 70 at an angle relative to the plane thereof equal to angle θ₁. A cylindrical bearing sleeve 72 is also supported by the bottom plate 70, adjacent the support plate 71. The support plate 71 has a recess cut therein adjacent bearing sleeve 72 to provide operational clearance for the worm gear 67. A plurality of apertures are provided in the bottom plate 70 for the convenient attachment thereof to the bale chamber 13. Threaded apertures 74 and 76 are provided in the support plate 71 for the attachment of the hub 64. It should be readily realised by one of skill in the art that the support frame 62 may be constructed of individual elements, or cast as a single unitary structure, or any combination thereof.

The twine holder 63 comprises a unitary structure with three generally circular flanges or discs 80, 81 and 82 which are laterally spaced one above the other in such a manner as to define respective slots or grooves 83 and 84. The flanges 80, 81 and 82 are generally annular in shape and of the same size although the flange 80 has a thickness greater than the other two. Each flange has at its periphery six equispaced notches 86 which are generally rectangular in shape and of a depth which is substantially smaller than the difference between the radius of the flanges 80, 81 and 82 and a radius of the central opening 87. Thus, the grooves 83 and 84 still have an effective depth even at the location of the notches 86. The leading and trailing edges 88 and 89, with respect to the direction of rotation 90, of each notch 86 are directed generally radially of the twine flanges 80, 81 and 82 with the outer end of the leading edge 88 cut away to allow the twine readily to enter the notch. Adjacent notches 86 and the three flanges 80, 81 and 82 are slightly offset relative to each other so that the notches 86 in one flange are slightly in advance (with respect to the direction of rotation 90) of the corresponding notches 86 in the flange immediately above. Thus, associated notches 86 in the flanges 80, 81 and 82 define grooves 91 to 96 (FIG. 5) which are inclined rearwardly with respect to the direction of rotation 90 at an angle of about 60 degrees relative to the planes of the flanges. All edges of the twine holder flanges 80, 81 and 82 which during operation may be engaged by any twine portions are mounted so as to avoid inadvertent cutting of the twine during operation.

Around the lower edge of the opening 87 in the twine holder 63 a continuous series of gear teeth 97 is provided, which teeth are adapted to mesh with the worm gear 67 on the billhook shaft 99. The twine holder 63 is held in position on the support 62 by a retainer ring 98 of the central hub 64 such that it is prevented from undergoing any lateral or vertical movement, yet permitting rotation thereof. The billhook shaft 99 supports at one end the associated drive sprockets 58 and 59. The billhook 66 comprises a fixed jaw 100 positioned at about 90 degrees relative to the axis of the billhook shaft 99 at the opposite end to the sprockets 58 and 59, and a movable jaw 101, the design and operation of these jaws and the billhook in general being similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,097 issued July 17, 1979 and will not be described in any further detail.

A further support member 102 is provided on base 62 with a pivot 103 at one side of the twine holder 63 for pivotally mounting a pair of twine retaining fingers 104 and 105, which are integrally connected at one end. The twine fingers 104 and 105 extend from the pivot 103 in a transverse direction across the twine holder 63 and extend in part into the grooves 83 and 84, respectively. Each finger 104 and 105 has a curved edge 106 opposite the pivot which edge acts as a twine guide, assisting in the positioning of the secondary portion 43 of the twine in the groove 91 as seen in FIG. 5. The edge 106 partly defines a generally hooked end 107 of the finger which, at least in the upper finger 104, has a straight edge 108 which also acts as a twine guide. The edges of the fingers 104 and 105 facing towards the twine holder 63 and extending between the flanges thereof each comprise a straight section 109 and a curved section 110, separated by a curved section 111 of a smaller radius than section 110 (FIG. 5). The fingers 104 and 105 are resiliently urged into the grooves 83 and 94 by a leaf spring 112. The leaf spring 112 is secured at one end adjacent the pivot 103 to the upturned edge of the support member 102 and extends in the direction of the fingers 104,105 and contacts the same between ears 113 and 114 adjacent the edge 106 of the twine fingers. An adjustable screw 115 (FIG. 5), mounted on support member 102, provides adjustment of the pressure exerted by the spring 112 on the fingers 104 and 105.

A first stationary twine guide 116 (FIGS. 4 and 5) is fixed to the support frame 62 adjacent a side of the twine holder 63 and includes a pair of parallel spaced apart plates 117 and 118 which extend partially into the grooves 83 and 84, respectively, of the twine holder 63 and terminate forwardly in guide edges 119 and 120. A curved guide extension 121 is fixed to the twine guide 116 and directed forwardly and away from the knotter mechanism 24. The extension 121 and guide edges 119 and 120 cooperate to direct twine inwardly towards a twine-gripping area (best seen in FIG. 5) defined by the groove 91 and the twine retaining fingers 104 and 105. The guide 116 terminates rearwardly in a pair of spaced-apart twine disc cleaners 122 and 123 which extend into the grooves 83 and 84, respectively, to remove any material therein and direct it away from the knotter 24. Projecting from the upturned edge of the support member 102 in a rearward direction partially above the twine holder 63 is a second stationary twine guide 124 comprising a guide surface 125 operable to guide twine towards the twine gripping area referred to above.

The support member 102 is provided with a boss 126 which is bored at 127 and counterbored at both 128 and 129. The bore 127 is threaded and receives rotary knife means 130 (best seen in FIG. 8) by way of a threaded spigot 131 of the latter which is held in an adjusted position by a locknut 132. One end of the spigot 131 is formed with a stub shaft 133 of smaller diameter on which is rotatably mounted a rotary knife 134. The knife 134 is frusto-conical and has a recess 135 in the base which leaves a comparatively narrow annular area 136 for cooperation with a shear surface 137 of a shear plate 138 in the form of an annulus secured to the underside of the flange 82, a knife edge 139 being formed around the periphery of the base. The shear plate 138 is of hardened metal with sharp edges and is formed with notches 86' (FIG. 9) complementary to, and aligned with, the notches 86 in the flange 82, although of slightly larger size to prevent inadvertent cutting of the twine by the sharp edges when the latter is moved relative to a notch 86 in the flange 82, as it is during part of the knot tying operation. It has been found that an inset of 2 mm is sufficient to prevent inadvertent twine cutting and yet effect positive cutting at the required time.

The axis of rotation 140 of the knife 134 is offset from the path of the twine portions 20 and 43 which are to be severed by the knife as will be appreciated from FIG. 5. The twine portions 20 and 43 in fact are held in the corner 141 of the notch 86 of the flange 82 associated with the knife 134 during the twine cutting operation. The relatively small surface of the annular area 136 of the knife which cooperates with the shear surface 137 helps to ensure a precise cutting operation as it reduces the likelihood of non-planar characteristics and/or irregularities of the cooperating surfaces interfering with the cutting action. The scissor action of the knife 134 and shear surface 137 is enhanced by rotary movement of the knife during the cutting operating which results in the twine portions 20 and 43 actually sliding along the knife edge. Rotary movement is imparted to the knife 134 by the action of the twine portions 20 and 43 engaging the same as they are moved along their paths by the twine holder 63, i.e. in the direction 90. The loading of the knife 134 on the shear surface 137 is adjusted by loosening the locknut 132 and screwing the spigot 131 in the appropriate direction for which purpose it is provided with a slot 142.

During operation, the baler is moved across a field and crop material, such as hay, to be baled is picked up from the ground with the pickup mechanism 11 and is delivered thereby to the feeder mechanism 12 which in turn feeds the crop material in successive batches or charges into the bale chamber 13 in timed sequence with the reciprocating baler plunger 16. The plunger 16 compresses the crop material into a bale 14 and at the same time gradually advances the bale towards the outlet 17 of the baling chamber in the direction of arrow 18. As long as the clutch mechanism 37 is not actuated, all components of the knotters 24 are in their rest positions. This means that the needles 23 are in their lowermost dwell position, as shown in full lines in FIG. 2, while the billhook 66 projects downwardly, as seen in FIG. 4. As already mentioned, a primary portion 20 of twine 21 extends across the bale chamber 13 in the path of the leading end of the bale 14 being formed and passes through the eye of the needle 23, with the free end of the primary portion being supported in the twine holder 63 of the associated knotter 24, bearing in mind that two knotters are employed, whereby each bale 14 is bound by two pieces of twine. The free end of the primary portion 20 of the twine 21 is received in a groove 92 of the twine holder 63 and passes across the top of the twine holder and down into the next groove 91 (arising from the knotting operation in relation to the previous bale) and is firmly held in position by the retainer fingers 104 and 105 in cooperation with the flanges 80, 81 and 82.

As a bale 14 is being formed and moved along the bale chamber 13, the star wheel 33 is rotated thereby and as the bale reaches a predetermined length, the wheel 33 actuates the clutch mechanism 37, whereupon the main shaft 30 is rotated through 360 degrees by the chain and sprocket drive mechanism. During the first 180 degrees of rotation of the shaft 30, the crank arm 39, the pitman 40 and the needle frame 41 are pivoted whereby the needles 23 move from their lowermost rest positions to their highest, full throw, positions (phantom lines in FIG. 2). Simultaneously, as is known in the art, the baler plunger 16 is moving towards its extreme material compressing position. The needles 23 move upwardly through the bale chamber 13 and through slots (not shown) in the face of the plunger 16, whereby the plunger holds the crop material to be baled away from the needles 23 but enables a smooth and unobstructed passage for the needles 23 through the bale chamber 13 and prevents bending and/or breakage of the needles 23. During the next 180 degrees of rotation of the main shaft 30, the needles 23 are retracted and returned to their rest or dwell positions. At the same time, the plunger 16 is retracted. During the initial movement over 120 degrees of the main shaft 30, the teeth 51 of the gear segment 50 are not in mesh with the teeth of the conical gear 52, whereby neither knotter 24 is operated.

During the initial movement of the shaft 30, each needle 23 carries the end of the secondary twine portion 43 of the twine 21 from the position shown in full lines in FIG. 2 around the bottom and trailing end of the bale 14 to the position shown in phantom lines in FIG. 2 in which the tip of each needle 23 projects through the aperture 60 in the bale chamber top wall at a location generally forwardly of the associated knotter 24 and slightly offset to the left relative to the billhook 66 thereof and relative to the centre of the twine holder 63. At that moment, the needle 23 places the end of the secondary twine portion 43 in the groove 91 positioned above and slightly rearwardly of the billhook 66 and adjacent the primary end portion 20 already positioned therein. Also at that moment, the secondary twine portion 43 is oriented substantially in the direction of the groove 91 of the twine holder 63 at the apex of the V defined by the stationary guide members 116 and 124. Hence, the twine portion 43 is readily located in the groove 91. The end of the secondary twine portion 43 is held against the trailing edges 89 of the notches 86 while the end of the primary portion 20 is held against the leading edges 88 thereof. The guide surface 125 of the stationary guide 124, guide extension 121 and guide edges 119 and 120 of the stationary guide 116, and edges 106 of the twine retainer fingers 104 and 105 thus cooperate with the edges of the twine disc flanges 80, 81 and 82 in guiding the end of the secondary twine portion 43 into the appropriate position in groove 91.

The gear segment 50 then meshes with the conical gear 52, whereby the billhook shaft 99 and the twine holder 63 start rotating in the direction 90. The transmission ratios are such that for a 60 degree rotation of the main shaft 30, the billhook shaft 99 is rotated through 360 degrees and the twine holder 63 is rotated through only 30 degrees.

As the twine holder 63 is rotated over said 30 degrees in the direction 90, the ends of the primary and secondary twine portions 20 and 43 held in the groove 91 are caused to move in the same direction and towards the twine retainer fingers 104 and 105. The edges 108 on the twine retainer fingers 104,105 wedge the twine portions between the fingers and the flanges 80, 81 and 82. After no more than 15 degrees of rotation of the twine holder 63, the end of the twine portions 20 and 43 are strongly caught and held between the fingers and the flanges and only can slide therebetween under a substantial load. This firm grasp on the two portions of twine is held over about 30 degrees of rotation of the twine holder 63. Thereafter, the ends of the twine portions 20 and 43 are moved between the sections 111 of the retainer fingers 104,105 and the flanges 80, 81, 82 which increases the area of contact between the various components and the twine so that the grasp on the latter is further increased to the extent that the twine portions can no longer slide between the components. The free end of the primary twine portion 20, which initially was held between the flanges 80, 81, 82 and the sections 111 on the twine fingers 104, 105, moves past the sections 111 substantially at the same moment as the ends of the twine portions 20 and 43 move between the flanges and the twine retainer fingers at the location of the hooked ends 107 of the fingers.

As already mentioned, as the twine holder 63 is rotated over the first 30 degrees of its movement, the billhook shaft 99 is rotated over a first full cycle of 360 degrees. This is followed by a second full cycle of 360 degrees to complete the knot-tying operation, the details of which are not, in the main, pertinent to the present invention and will not, therefore, be given. However, the operation is similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,097 issued July 17, 1979 even though there are certain general constructional differences between the present knotters 24 and those of the pending application, although not as regards the nature and operation of the billhook 66.

During the final 180 degrees movement of the second 360 degrees cycle of the billhook shaft 99, the twine holder 63 is rotated further, thereby moving the ends of the twine portions 20,43 to the sections 111 of the retainer fingers 104 and 105 so that, as explained, the grasp on the twine portions is increased substantially to the extent that the ends are no longer allowed to slide inbetween the various components even under an increased tensile load. As the twine holder 63 moves to its next following rest position, the groove 91 holding the twine portions 20 and 43 moves past the rotary knife means 130, whereby both portions of twine are severed, leaving the formed bale 14 independent as such although the looped ends of the twine portions are still retained on the billhook 66.

More specifically, the twine portions 20 and 43 engage the knife edge 139 as they are being held extremely tightly in the corner 141 of the relevant notch 86 of the flange 82 and moved towards the knife by movement of the twine holder 63. The twine portions 20 and 43 then get pushed beneath the lower surface of the flange 82 towards the shear plate 138 by the combined action of the knife edge 139 and the twine holder movement until the knife edge engages the shear surface 137 and the cutting operation commences. The engagement of the knife edge 139 by the twine portions 20 and 43, particularly when the twine portions engage the shear plate, causes rotation of the knife 134 so that the knife edge 139 then moves relative to the twine portions thus enhancing the cutting action which takes place primarily between the knife edge and the edge of the shear surface 137. Also, the knife rotation results in a different area of the knife edge 139 being presented for the next cutting operation, whereby the incidence of blunting is much relieved besides the fact that the knife is to some extent self-sharpening by virtue of its sliding cooperation with the surface 137 of the hardened shear plate 138.

The cutting of the primary twine portion 20 gives rise to a short piece of twine and if this does not fall from between the discs 80, 81 and 82 during the formation of the subsequent bales, the twine disc cleaners 122 and 123 will remove it.

As the knot-tying operation approaches completion, the primary twine portion for the next bale, which is held in the next following groove 96 and which extends over the top of the twine holder 63, engages the section 111 of the fingers 104 and 105, so that when a tensile load is exerted on the twine during the formation of the following bale, that twine portion is firmly held and does not slip.

It will be appreciated that the rotary knife means 130 provided in accordance with the present invention give rise to numerous advantages. As already mentioned, the life of the knife is longer as the whole of the cutting edge 139 is used in rotation and also, there is a self-sharpening effect with the shear surface 137 irrespective of whether this is provided by a purpose made shear plate or otherwise. In addition, the knife means are adjustable so that a first class cutting action can be maintained or knife replacement readily effected. The improved cutting action due to a more consistent knife edge 139 and the rotary action of the knife 134 during the cutting action reduces significantly the likelihood of partial twine cutting. Therefore, the twine holder can be made less robust as it does not have to withstand large forces which can arise if a partial cut occurs. Furthermore, the recess 135 in the base of the knife 134 can accommodate foreign matter which might otherwise impair the cutting operation.

The provision of a separate hardened shear plate 138 also means that the twine holder can be made of a softer, and therefore less expensive, material than would be the case if the twine holder had to provide the shear surface as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,097 issued July 17, 1979, for example.

The foregoing has described a knotter having a rotary knife providing a continuously sharpened cutting edge for cutting baling twine. It is anticipated that aspects of the present invention other than those specifically defined in the appended claims can be obtained from the foregoing description and the drawings. 

We claim:
 1. In a knotter apparatus, the combination comprising:a twine holder including a plurality of rotating twine discs; a shear plate connected to rotate with said twine discs; and a knife rotatably connected to said twine holder having a cutting edge in knife-sharpening engagement with said shear plate.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said knife includes an annular cutting edge.
 3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said knife is adjustably connected to said twine holder.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said knife includes a frusto-conical portion having an annular cutting edge; andsaid frusto-conical portion defines a relief with said shear plate.
 5. The combination of claim 1 whereinthe discs define a plurality of adjacent sets of notches; the notches have a leading edge, a trailing edge and bottom edge; and the axis of rotation of said knife is radially offset from the bottom edge of said notches.
 6. In a knotter apparatus the combination comprising:a twine holder including a plurality of rotating twine discs; said discs defining a plurality of adjacent sets of notches; a knife rotatably connected to said twine holder; and means for continuously sharpening said knife, said means including a shear plate connected to rotate with said discs in engagement with said knife.
 7. The combination of claim 6 includingmeans for providing a rotating path of twine; said means being a bottom edge of said notches; said knife having an axis of rotation radially offset from said path and having a cutting edge intersecting said path.
 8. The combination of claim 1 or 6, wherein said shear plate comprises an annulus having a shear surface on one side thereof in contact with said knife.
 9. The combination of claim 8 wherein said knife is adjustably mounted to vary the contact loading between said shear surface and said knife. 